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Aoyama Gakuin Outruns Kyoto Sangyo at Tango University Ekiden


The Tango University Ekiden, the 86th Kansai Region university men's championship race, happened Saturday on an 8-leg, 74.4 km course through Kyoto from Miyazu to Tango. Kyoto Sangyo University successfully defended its win last year in 3:47:52 to take its 34th Kansai title.

KSU got off to a slow start, 35 seconds behind the leader in 6th after the opening leg. But on the 11.8 km 2nd leg Kaito Kojima, the top Japanese finisher in September's National University Championships 10000 m, was outstanding. Passing one team after another, he overtook leader Ritsumeikan University near halfway on his stage and pushed on to break the CR he set last year by 11 seconds. By the time he handed off he had a lead of 50 seconds over Ritsumeikan.

Ritsumeikan closed that back down to 11 seconds over the 3rd leg, but KSU's 4th runner Taiyo Yamaguchi reopened it with a stage best run. The rest of the team ran a stable safety race, and anchor Daiki Kuwata was all smiles as he broke the tape, his win guaranteeing KSU a place at next year's Izumo Ekiden.

Kwansei Gakuin University took 2nd a distant 2:23 behind KSU. 2nd runner Keima Yamashita moved up from 7th to 3rd, and 3rd runner Daisuke Kuyama beat the CR for the 5.6 km 3rd leg by 43 seconds. A good run on the 8th leg from Kenshin Kamimoto while racing head-to-head with Kansai University was enough to secure KGU's position even without any individual stage wins.

After a stage-winning run from starting runner Hayato Omori Ritsumeikan ended up 3rd, with Osaka Keizai University 4th after having been the 2nd-place Kansai Region team at Nationals two weeks ago. Despite running much of the race in 2nd with stage wins on the 5th, 6th and 7th legs, Kansai University fell to 5th after its 8th runner struggled.

Doshisha University, Ryukoku University, Kobe University, Kinki University and Osaka University rounded out to 10-deep podium to secure themselves places at next year's race. For Kinki it was the first podium finish in 3 years, with Osaka making it back after missing out last year.

Running in a non-competitive capacity for the 2nd year in a row, 2024 Hakone Ekiden champion Aoyama Gakuin University beat winner KSU to the finish line in 3:46:30. AGU's 1st runner So Honma, 4th runner Kaito Nakamura, 5th runner Kaito Kumai and 6th runner Sho Fukutomi all ran faster than the official stage-winning times on their legs.

Tango University Ekiden

86th Kansai Region University Men's Championships
Tango, Kyoto, 16 Nov. 2024
22 teams, 8 stages, 74.4 km
top 10 teams seeded for 2025

Top Individual Stage Results
First Stage (9.9 km) - Hayato Omori (Ritsumeikan) - 29:56
Second Stage (11.8 km) - Kaito Kojima (Kyoto Sangyo) - 35:05 - CR
Third Stage (5.6 km) - Ryosuke Chaki (Ritsumeikan) - 16:37 - CR
Fourth Stage (9.5 km) - Taiyo Yamaguchi (Kyoto Sangyo) - 27:55
Fifth Stage (9.4 km) - Shusuke Shiba (Kansai) - 28:41
Sixth Stage (6.3 km) - Keito Hirano (Kansai) - 18:52
Seventh Stage (11.8 km) - Kosei Tanimura (Kansai) - 35:48
Eighth Stage (10.4 km) - Renta Iwasaka (Osaka Keizai) - 32:15

Team Results
OP - Aoyama Gakuin University - 3:46:30
1. Kyoto Sangyo University - 3:47:52
2. Kwansei Gakuin University - 3:50:15
3. Ritsumeikan University - 3:50:53
4. Osaka Keizai University - 3:51:22
5. Kansai University - 3:52:08
6. Doshisha University - 3:57:46
7. Ryukoku University - 3:57:53
8. Kobe University - 3:59:35
9. Kinki University - 4:00:54
10. Osaka University - 4:01:39
-----
11. Setsunan University - 4:02:10
12. Biwako Gakuin University - 4:02:23
13. Kyoto University - 4:02:50
14. Osaka Kokusai University - 4:04:13
15. Osaka Koritsu University - 4:07:38
16. Osaka Taiiku University - 4:08:02
17. Bukkyo University - 4:10:11
18. Osaka Gakuin University - 4:10:22
19. Osaka Kyoiku University - 4:11:41
20. Konan University - 4:13:46
21. Hyogo Kenritsu University - 4:18:42

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